The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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12 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2020 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FOUR WOLVERINES ARE CHOSEN IN NHL DRAFT With the 29th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, the Las Vegas Golden Knights selected highly touted U-M hockey freshman forward Brendan Brisson, making him the 25th Wolver- ine to be selected in the first round, the most all time for any school. He will play at U-M until he turns pro. "I'm really excited for Brendan," U-M head coach Mel Pearson said in a draft- night statement. "Our staff is looking forward to his career here at Michigan. We anticipate helping him continue his growth as a player, as he looks to fulfill his dream of one day playing in the National Hockey League." Last season, Brisson was named the 2019-20 United States Hockey League (USHL) Rookie of the Year and earned a first-team All-USHL nod, after post- ing 59 points (24 goals, 35 assists) in 45 games. In the second round of the draft with the No. 38 overall pick, the San Jose Sharks chose another Wolverine fresh- man in Thomas Bordeleau. Before U-M, the Terrebonne, Quebec, native played two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP) and notched 16 goals and 30 assists in 47 games in 2019-20. Freshman defenseman Jacob Trus- cott was selected in the fifth round, at No. 144 overall, by the Vancouver Canucks. Truscott spent the last two years with the United States NTDP, and played in 47 games in 2019-20, record- ing five goals with 16 assists. Future Wolverine defenseman Ethan Edwards was taken by the New Jersey Devils in the fourth round with the 120th overall pick. Edwards will arrive in Ann Arbor in 2021. He played last season with the Spruce Grove Saints in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, racking up nine goals and 24 assists in 50 outings. He will spend the 2020-21 season with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL. The Wolverines have now had 168 NHL draft picks all time and hold the longest current draft streak in college hockey, with a player being picked in each of the last 25 years. THREE MICHIGAN PLAYERS ARE PROJECTED AS TOP-FIVE PICKS IN 2021 NHL DRAFT Four Wolverines were taken in the 2020 NHL Draft, and U-M's success in the event is expected to continue in 2021, with The Athletic's Corey Pron- man placing three budding Maize and Blue stars — freshman defenseman Owen Power (No. 2), freshman forward Kent Johnson (3) and freshman for- ward Matthew Beniers (5) — among the top five on his latest big board of the best draft prospects. Power was "the top defenseman and arguably the best player in the USHL last season," Pronman noted, after the 6-5, 214-pounder led the league's de- fensemen in scoring and was a first- team all-star. "An extremely entertaining player to watch," with "elite stick skills and offen- sive I.Q.," Johnson was "the top forward in the BCHL [British Columbia Hockey League] and CJHL [Canadian Junior Hockey League] last season," accord- ing to Pronman. The 6-1, 165-pounder led the BCHL in scoring this past year with 101 points in 52 games. Previously a Harvard commitment, Beniers was a captain of the U.S. Na- tional Team Development Program a year ago, finishing second on the squad in scoring with 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) in 44 matchups. "Beniers does not dazzle with elite speed and skill," Pronman wrote. "His game lacks flash, but his game also has very few holes. He will become a fan and coach favorite because of his elite competitiveness." Despite being a defender, "he's also a highly intelligent offensive player who makes a lot of plays in the middle third of the ice," the writer said. BIG TEN ANNOUNCES START DATE FOR 2020-21 HOCKEY SEASON The schedules have not been finalized yet, but the Big Ten conference recently provided a baseline for what the 2020- 21 men's ice hockey season will look like. The campaign will begin Nov. 14 at the earliest, and the slate will feature 24-game conference schedules, plus four games per school against Arizona State hosted on Big Ten campuses. The 2020-21 season will culminate March 18-20, 2021, with the Big Ten Tournament, which is reverting back to the one-weekend, single-elimina- tion format featuring all seven confer- ence teams that it used in the event's first four years. "The 2020-21 hockey season builds on the rich traditions of Big Ten hockey and brings new competitive oppor- tunities to the conference with the Arizona State scheduling agreement," league commissioner Kevin Warren said. "As our teams return to compe- tition, we will continue to keep the health and safety of our student-ath- letes at the forefront of our decisions." Former U-M head coach Red Beren- son had a hand in getting the sport back to competition, assisting as a special advisor to Warren. " The 2020-21 schedule and the modified Big Ten Tournament format have been structured in a way that maximizes flexibility for the season," Berenson said in a statement. "The op- portunity to return to competition in mid-November and the scheduling agreement with Arizona State is an exciting time for Big Ten hockey." Big Ten hockey teams, and Arizona State, are set to follow the same medi- cal protocols that were developed by the Big Ten Return To Competition Task Force and are in place for foot- ball, including daily COVID-19 testing, enhanced cardiac screening and the decision-making process/rules regard- ing practice and competition. — Clayton Sayfie MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK Fr e s h m a n f o r w a r d B r e n d a n B r i s s o n became the 25th Wolverine to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft, giving U-M more top-round picks than any other program. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY